Woodford was promoted to brigadier general in February 1777. He was wounded later that year at the Battle of Brandywine, where he and his troops performed well. In 1778 he led his brigade at the Battle of Monmouth where he took control of Comb's Hill and with artillery was able to pound the British left flank.. In late 1779 he and his brigade were sent to join the Southern army, only to be captured at the Siege of Charleston in 1780. He was sent to New York, where he died on board a British prison ship later that year. He was buried at Trinity Church, New York.